How to Use Training Sticks in Golf

Chances are, you've seen those two colorful sticks poking out of nearly every tour pro's bag and wondered if they could actually help your game. The answer is a resounding yes. These simple, inexpensive rods are arguably the most versatile training aid in golf, providing immediate visual feedback that can correct some of the most common swing faults. This guide will walk you through exactly how to use training sticks to build a more consistent foundation, from aiming correctly to grooving a better swing path and sharpening your short game.

What Are Training Sticks and Why Should You Use Them?

Training sticks, often called alignment sticks or aiming rods, are lightweight fiberglass poles, usually about four feet long. Originally designed for setting up golf course markers, players and coaches quickly realized their immense value as a practice tool. Their brilliance lies in their simplicity. In golf, what you feel you're doing is often completely different from what you're actually doing. Sticks provide undeniable, external feedback, showing you precisely where your body and club are aligned and moving in space.

For a small investment (often under $20 for a pair), you get a tool that helps with:

• Alignment: The number one foundational flaw for most amateur golfers.
• Ball Position: Ensuring consistency with every club in the bag.
• Swing Path: Correcting nasty slices (over-the-top moves) or hooks.
• Body Rotation: Helping you turn correctly instead of swaying.
• Short Game Precision: Dialing in your chipping and putting strokes.

Think of them as a personal geometry lesson on the driving range, turning abstract swing thoughts into clear, tangible guidelines you can trust.

The Foundation: Mastering Your Alignment

If you don't aim correctly, your body will have to make a series of complicated adjustments during the swing to get the ball to the target. It's the root cause of countless problems. Here’s how to build a perfect alignment setup every single time.

Drill 1: The Parallel Lines Setup

This is the most fundamental and important drill you can do with training sticks. It teaches the crucial difference between your clubface line (target line) and your body line.

1. Set the Target Line: Place one stick on the ground, pointing directly at your target. This is your target line. For example, if you're aiming at a flagstick 150 yards away, this stick represents the line the ball must start on to go there. A great way to do this is to stand behind your ball, pick an intermediate target (a leaf, a discolored patch of grass) that's just a few feet in front of your ball and on the line to the final target, and then lay the stick down to point at that intermediate target.
2. Set the Body Line: Place the second stick on the ground parallel to the first one, but just on the inside of the ball (closer to you). This is your body line. It's the line that your feet, knees, hips, and shoulders should be parallel to at address.
3. Take Your Stance: Address the ball as you normally would, setting your clubface square to the target line stick first. Then, set your feet so they are aimed parallel to the body line stick. Your feet, hips, and shoulders should all be pointing parallel to the target line, not *at* the target. This feels strange to many players, who are used to aiming their entire body at the flag, which forces an "over-the-top" swing as they try to get the club back on line.

Internalize this feeling. When you look up from this setup, it will feel like you're aiming "left" of the target (for a right-handed golfer). This is correct! Spend a significant portion of your next range session hitting balls with this setup until it feels normal. It trains your eyes to see what correct alignment actually looks like.

Drill 2: The Ball Position Checker

Inconsistent ball position leads to inconsistent strikes, causing fat and thin shots. Using the alignment setup above, you can create a T-shape to check your ball position.

1. Start with your "Parallel Lines Setup" in place.
2. Take your second stick (or a third one if you have it) and place it on the ground perpendicular to your target line stick, creating a 'T' shape. This new stick shows you exactly where the ball is in relation to your feet.
3. For Short Irons & Wedges (PW, 9i, 8i): The stick should be positioned in the dead center of your stance. Underneath your sternum.
4. For-Mid Irons (7i, 6i, 5i): The ball should be slightly forward of center - perhaps one ball-width forward from your shortest irons.
5. For Long Irons, Hybrids & Fairway Woods: The ball moves progressively more forward, a couple of inches inside your lead heel.
6. For the Driver: The ball should be aligned with the inside of your lead heel.

Use this T-drill to hit a few shots with each type of club, getting comfortable with how the correct ball position feels. You might be surprised at how far off yours has been.

Honing Your Swing Path

Once your alignment is solid, you can use the sticks to work on the path of your golf swing. This is where you can start fixing that slice or hook for good.

Drill 3: The "Train Tracks" Gate

This drill gives you instant feedback on which a "slice motion" (out-to-in) or a "hook motion" (too much in-to-out).

1. Place your ball on the ground.
2. Place one stick on the ground a few inches outside the ball, parallel to your target line.
3. Place the second stick a few inches inside the ball, also parallel to the target line.
4. These two sticks form a "gate" or "train tracks" through which your club must swing. Your goal is to swing the clubhead through the gate without hitting either stick.
5. If you hit the outside stick: Your swing path is coming from out-to-in, or "over the top," which is a primary cause of slices.
6. If you hit the inside stick: Your swing path is coming too far from the inside, which can lead to blocks or hooks.

Start with slow, half-swings, focusing purely on swinging through the gate. This visual feedback makes it clear what a neutral, on-plane swing feels like.

Drill 4: Preventing the Sway

A golf swing is a rotation around the spine, not a lateral sway away from the ball. A sway bleeds power and ruins consistency. This is a simple but effective drill to stop it.

1. Take your address position.
2. Take one of your alignment sticks and stick it into the ground just outside your trail hip (your right hip for a right-hander). Let it stand a couple of feet high.
3. Now, make your backswing. Your goal is to rotate your torso and hips without bumping your hip into the stick.
4. If you sway laterally instead of rotating, your hip will immediately hit the stick.

This drill provides a physical barrier, forcing your body to learn the feeling of a powerful, centered turn, just like the "staying in a cylinder" concept all great players use.

Upgrading Your Short Game

Don't just leave the sticks on the range! They are incredibly valuable on the putting and chipping greens.

Drill 5: Chipping Alignment Check

This is a simplified version of the full-swing alignment drill. Place one stick pointing from your ball to the spot where you want the chip to land. Place the second stick just outside the ball, guiding your feet to set up square or slightly open to that line. This promotes a "hands-ahead" impact position and a downward strike, ensuring crisp contact on your chips.

Drill 6: The Putting Gate

Even if your read is perfect, you won't make the putt if you don't start it on line. This drill focuses entirely on starting your ball on your intended line.

1. Find a straight putt of about 5-6 feet.
2. Place your ball down with the brand line pointing at the hole.
3. Place your two training sticks on the ground, forming a narrow gate about a foot in front of your ball. The gate should only be slightly wider than the golf ball itself.
4. Your one and only goal is to putt the ball through the gate without it touching either side. Forget about speed for now, just focus on making a pure stroke that starts the ball perfectly online. If you can do this consistently, you'll make a lot more putts.

Drill 7: The Putting Stroke "Rails"

If your putting stroke path is wobbly, it's hard to be consistent. This drill helps groove a repeatable stroke path.

1. Place your ball down on the putting green.
2. Set one stick on the ground parallel to your target line, just outside the toe of your putter at address.
3. Place the second stick parallel to the first, just outside the heel of your putter.
4. These two sticks create "rails" for your putting stroke. Practice making strokes back and through, trying not to touch either stick. This gives you clear feedback on whether you are pushing the putter outside, or pulling it too far inside, training a much more stable and consistent stroke.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, training sticks are a simple, powerful tool for giving you instant, honest feedback on your fundamentals. By regularly incorporating these drills into your practice sessions, you can build a solid foundation in your alignment, learn the feeling of a proper swing path, and gain more confidence in your short game.

While these drills provide the "how-to" for better practice, knowing exactly "what" to work on in your unique swing is the other half of the puzzle. That's a big part of why we created our app, Caddie AI. It can help analyze your performance and even your shots on the course to tell you what specific areas of your game are costing you the most strokes. When you head to the range with your sticks, you’ll know you are spending your valuable practice time on the exact movements that will actually help you play better golf.